This invention relates to an electrical connector mountable to a circuit board of an electrical instrument or the like. In particular, the present invention relates to an electrical connector which is mounted on a circuit board, being disposed within a recess formed in the circuit board.
In order to reduce the height of an electrical connector mounted to a circuit board, a recess or opening is formed in the circuit board, especially, at an edge thereof, the electrical connector is being disposed within the recess. For example, the aforementioned electrical connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,271, U.S. Pat. No. 7,182,610, or JP 2004-327244 A, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Specifically, a shell of the electrical connector of JP 2004-327244 A has two fixed portions or two wings at opposite sides of the electrical connector; the fixed portions are soldered to the upper surface of the circuit board so that the electrical connector is secured to the circuit board.
However, the electrical connector of JP 2004-327244 A has a problem that its shell may be deformed by unexpected movement of a mating connector thereof. Therefore, there is a need for an electrical connector which has a better deformation resistant structure in comparison with the electrical connector of the JP 2004-327244 A.